Monday, December 30, 2013

This week we’re Getting Personal with
Author Cris Anson. Cris stopped by to talk about the writing life and share an HOT
excerpt from her novel Mercy and
Redemption.

We’re so thrilled to congratulate Cris on
the recent paperback release of this great ménage romance!

About Cris
Anson

I write erotic romance because I firmly
believe that life doesn't stop at the bedroom door. I had a deeply romantic
relationship with my husband, and I want to celebrate his memory in my writing.
After he died, it took me a long time to come out of my grief, but parts of him
-- his honor, courage, optimism, tenacity, and lust for life -- live on in all
my heroes.

And I write erotic romance because I feel
you're never too old to give or receive love. My books have taken a decided
turn into BDSM and I'm enjoying the research way too much. As well, many of my
stories have older heroines who dazzle younger men, and I wouldn't mind being
such a heroine in real life. But that's another story...

Finding new ways to express not only love,
but lust. Putting part A into slot 1 can get boring. Even putting parts A, B
and C into slots 1, 2, and 3…well, you know, ménages. You have to concentrate
on the emotions, not the actions. But when I’m done and reread it, sometimes I
have to say “Phew, that’s hot!”

Where do
you write?

I’m lucky enough to have a small room to
devote to my writing. Good thing, because I have two printers (laser and color)
and a label printer, lots of bookshelves and several filing cabinets. And a
desk that I’ve yet to see the surface of, it’s so cluttered with images and
ideas and paperwork of all sorts. Hey, I’ve been writing for more than 20
years; one accumulates a lot of “stuff” over time.

What’s
the best piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?

Don’t ever give up. Imagine if that soda
inventor had stopped at 6-Up. Or Stephen King, who got so frustrated at not
being able to sell “Carrie” that he tossed the manuscript in the trash (his
wife rescued it). If you keep writing, keep learning your craft, you will
succeed. Don’t give up in life, either. If you’re stuck with some lemons, you
know what to do: make lemonade. I’ve buried two husbands I loved, and I’m still
open to the idea of loving again. Life is a banquet; sample it, taste it, enjoy
it, gorge on it. And make lemonade.

What is
your most current/upcoming release and what is it about?

Hooray, I just sent my fourteenth book,
REDEMPTION AND GLORY, to my editor. It’s the third in my MERCY series. The
first book, PUNISHMENT AND MERCY, showcased a wanton widow from 1694
Massachusetts Bay Colony and her two loves: the blacksmith her father forced
her to marry and his young apprentice.

In book #2, MERCY AND REDEMPTION, a woman
and two men meet in the ancient cemetery where the old lovers are buried and
realize they’d known each other in a previous life; they have to work through
some unresolved issues from 300 years ago. Not to make a spoiler of it, but
only one hero gets his happy ending. MERCY AND REDEMPTION, which has been out
in electronic format since January, is a finalist in the 2014 EPIC eBook Awards
Erotica category. By the way, it was just released as a paperback on December
23. Wonderful Christmas present for me!

The new book, tentatively titled REDEMPTION
AND GLORY, follows the other hero, who is captivated by Mistress Glory as she
flogs a male submissive in a BDSM dungeon. This one was by far the most fun to
write because I had to do a lot of hands-on research *grin*. Three-quarters of
the way through the book I still had no idea which one of them would wind up
“on top”. But the characters made the decision for me.

What
would readers be surprised to know about you?

I’m really quite shy with strangers. And
believe me, it was difficult to start conversations in a roomful of BDSM practitioners
when you’ve just entered all alone. It’s only when I put on my “Cris Anson,
Erotic Romance Author” hat that I’m able to go forth and be daring and sexy
(well, as sexy as a 60+ year-old can be).

What’s
your ‘guilty pleasure’?

Moonstruck chocolate truffles.They are expensive (around $40 a pound!) so I splurge every Christmas with a
two-pound box of 40 pieces that never seems to last more than a couple of
weeks. They are the yummiest chocolates I’ve ever tasted.

What do
you like to do when you’re not writing?

Read, of course. Plus tend my garden, walk
in the woods, play the piano, listen to classical music, dance like no one’s
watching, conquer the New York Times Sunday Crossword Puzzle, lurk on FetLife
and FaceBook. I’d love to find a companion to go RVing with to some of our
nation’s beautiful natural treasures. Oh, and do more hands-on research at BDSM
dungeons, for sure.

Favorite
swear word?

*sigh* Fuck

Favorite
food?

Chocolate. Okay, if you want a healthy one,
corn, fresh-picked and still on the ear. Or wait, a juicy, ripe sun-warm Ramapo
tomato just picked from my own garden.

Actually I have two of them. The first is,
no question, Romanticon™, which is Ellora’s Cave’s
gathering of authors and readers and gorgeous CAVEMEN! Seriously, this is like
a family reunion, and even if it’s your first time, you’re instantly made to
feel like you belong. Everyone there talks about sex and erotic romance and
writing and Cavemen and, oh, did I mention sex? This is not a “how to write”
conference; it’s more of, what fun can we have with naughty overtones? The 2014
conference will again be in Canton, Ohio (we take over the entire hotel!) over
Columbus Day weekend, October 9-12. Don’t miss it!

The other is world-renowned Sexologist Dr.
Charley Ferrer’s BDSM Conference for Writers and Readers. This year it’s August 21-24 and dozens of erotic
romance authors as well as lifestyle practitioners are scheduled to give workshops.
A little horn-tooting here: I’ll be on a two-part panel with those four BDSM
authors I mentioned above. The curriculum will include a visit to a private
dungeon, to participate if so desired, or just to watch. Two years ago I
ventured to New York City for the first conference and it opened my eyes to the
Lifestyle. Not only has my writing become more authentic and emotional because
of my research, but my personal life has followed a similar track. The people
in the BDSM lifestyle are warm and welcoming and non-judgmental—and it’s fun to
participate in floggings, spankings, Violet Wand play and some of the other
quirky things I’ve learned about. You can read about many of my BDSM
experiences on my blog, Cris Anson’s Passions. Here’s a link to my most-often-read
blog, “Getting Naked at Paddles”, the longest-running BDSM dungeon in New York
City.

♥

Thank Cris! I’ll be popping over to the
Moonstruck site to order up some chocolate truffles. I shall savor them while
reading your latest sexy-sweet book!

And now, Darlings, pour yourself something
cool to drink and enjoy a taste of “Mercy and Redemption”

About "Mercy and Redemption"

Although this book is a standalone, Ellora's Cave recommends reading "Punishment and Mercy" first.

While searching an old cemetery for likely
gravestones to illustrate her colonial cookbook, Mercy Howe meets two hunks who
are tracing their ancestry, and sparks fly. Literally.

When Mercy casually touches Seth and Adam,
her vividly erotic vision involving all three of them feels like a memory, not
a dream, and awakens long-dormant sexual urges. Their kisses are achingly
familiar, and she welcomes each in turn into her body. Then she spends a
no-holds-barred weekend with both men in her bed anddiscovers
an intimacy—and a past—that blows her mind.

As memories resurface from three hundred
years ago, Mercy will have to choose whether to relive the experiences from
their joint past or forge a new bond with either Seth or Adam. Or both.

This
excerpt from MERCY AND REDEMPTION features Mercy with Adam. It is a little more
X-rated than the excerpt (with Seth) posted at Ellora’s Cave and the other
vendors' sites. But it's still not the hottest scene; just wait until Mercy
gets both of them in her bed at the same time!

“Step out,” he ordered softly. She did, taking
his proffered hand for balance, and he scooped up the dress to place it with
care on a nearby dresser. He turned to study her for a long moment, at last
blowing out a long breath, almost like a whistle. “Lady, what you do to my
blood pressure. The sight of you in those scraps of lace makes me weak.”

They were mere scraps, she thought idly, the
silk-and-lace bra artfully constructed to lift her breasts and offer cleavage,
the panties with their black triangles and half-inch-wide elastic covering just
enough to play peekaboo with total nudity. Having him standing before her in
his Italian suit while she was thus exposed gave her a decadent thrill. She
could feel her panties becoming saturated.

“Take your hair down.” It was a mere rasp, as
though he had not nearly enough air to speak.

With a sultry smile, she raised her arms and
began to pull out the myriad pins the hairdresser had inserted so artfully this
morning. The mass of hair cascaded down to her shoulders as she withdrew pin
after pin and placed them in his outstretched palm. In the back of her mind,
this too felt like something she’d done before.

He laid the pile of pins on the bedside table,
the metallic tinkle pleasant in the silence of their mutual haze. Then he
lifted his arms to run his hands through the disheveled mass of her hair, rubbing
the strands between his thumb and fingers.

“Don’t move.”

As if she could, with him devouring her like
that with his eyes. As if she could move away from her Adam, from the joy and
ecstasy she knew he could provide.

Lowering his arms from her hair, he stretched
one hand out, touched her clavicle with one finger, traced a trail down the
center of one breast. He deliberately scraped her nipple with a fingernail,
then moved on a slight diagonal, down and down to the damp triangle of her sex,
sliding the finger across her plump and aching lips and down her opposite
thigh, knee, calf, ending at the tip of her stiletto.

On his knees, he looked up at her, his pupils
overtaking the green of his eyes until only a thin line of color remained, lust
painting his face as his finger retraced its trip until it reached her panties.

“There,” he said, gently probing between her
legs. “What do you think I should do right…there?”

She shuddered. “Adam,” she said faintly. “You
know what to do.”

He smiled a wolfish smile. “I surely do,
darlin’, but I want to know what you want me to do.”

He’d done this before, she remembered, once he’d
been sure of her love. He would tease her until she’d had to beg for what she
wanted, had to say the words that had made her blush until her dying day,
although speaking the words had heightened her lust rather than diminished it.

“Fuck me, Adam. I want you to fuck me. Hard. The
way only you can.”

In a blur of seconds, Adam stripped naked, his
own clothes tossed helter-skelter, then tugged the flimsy waistband of her
panties and let them slide down and dangle from one foot. He tossed her onto
the bed, shoes and bra still intact. Quickly he sheathed himself and mounted
her, grabbing her by the thighs, shoving her legs up so her knees nearly
touched her shoulders.

“You want hard, baby? You got it.” He plunged
into her in one long, hard stroke, barely giving her a glimpse of his long,
thick cock before it disappeared into her. True to his word, he thrust with the
power of a jackhammer, stabbing in and out with a quick, harsh rhythm that
brought her to a sudden, devastating climax.

“Adam!” In that instant of sheer ecstasy, with
him still slamming into her, she saw all the years they’d shared, all the
orgasms they’d given each other, the dreams that were really memories, the
harsh conditions of living in the days before there was a United States of
America.

Monday, December 23, 2013

This week we’re Getting Personal with
Author J. Rose Allister. She stopped by to talk about the writing life and her new
release “Nature’s Bounty”

About J.
Rose Allister

J. Rose Allister is the author of fiction
with a passion--smoldering, curl-your-toes romance. An avid story lover and
frequent oddball, she works as a hospital secretary by day, romance writer by
night.

The best advice I ever received about
writing was, “Shut up, sit down, and do it.” Okay, I’m paraphrasing a bit, but
the general idea is there. I was a fledgling short story writer whining ad
nauseum my first attempt to do a full-length novel (gasp!) to author Susan
McBride, who I was doing web work for at the time. She laid it out for me.
Later that year, I read Stephen King’s On Writing and he pretty much said the
same thing. So I did.

What are
you working on now?

I’m just finishing up The Lone Wolves of
Shay Falls, a series of werewolf/cowboy MMF tales. Book 7, Disarming Cowboys,
was my NaNoWriMo project this year.

What is
your most current release and what is it about?

Nature’s Bounty is my newest release, one I
wrote especially for Ellora’s Cave in response to their call for hot bounty
hunter stories. Nate agrees to take on one more bounty before retiring for
good, and when he goes undercover as a male stripper to catch his quarry, he
finds himself in all kinds of trouble, both romantic and personal.

How did
you come up with the title?

I like titles that play on words or have
dual meanings. Nature is the hero Nate’s full name, something he gets teased
about in the book. I thought it would be fun to have a hard-bodied, no-nonsense
bounty hunter with a name that sounds like his parents picked it out at
Woodstock.

What
would readers be surprised to know about you?

I collect stags. It started by accident
when I tried to find one to replace a broken Christmas ornament one year. I
couldn’t find a single one. I searched harder and kept trying the following
year. The third year, I finally found one, and then another, and then another.
This year, there are so many in stores that it’s become a joke around our
house.

What’s
your ‘guilty pleasure’?

Like six different things popped into my
head when I read this, so apparently I’ve either got too many pleasures or too
much guilt, I’m not sure which. If I have to pick one, I’d say chocolate. I
went “caveman” early this year (meaning I switched to a Paleo diet). Chocolate
is allowed, but not the refined sugar in it, so there went my candy fetish.
Now, I allow myself one small piece every few weeks or so. It’s vital for my
creative flow.

What do
you like to do when you’re not writing?

Not writing? Heavens, whatever can you
mean? Seriously, I do enjoy stories of all kinds, whether I’m telling them or
not. So if I’m not making one up, I’m often watching one via TV or movies or reading
them my Nook.

♥

Thanks for stopping by J. Rose! Your hero
Nate sounds like one bounty hunter I wouldn’t run from!

About Nature’s
Bounty

When Nature Antillean, aka Nate the Crate,
poses as a male stripper to arrest a sexy-as-hell fugitive, he has no intention
of taking his disguise all the way—until he meets her. Lydia Franklin is more
than eager to take her gorgeous strip-o-gram for a wild ride, considering how
desperately life on the run sucks. The resulting encounter is explosive, but
ends with Lydia handcuffed and Nate honor-bound to take her to jail. The
fireworks aren’t over yet, however, for Nate discovers he’s now a victim of the
same setup that got Lydia accused of a crime she didn’t commit.

With both of them declared fugitives, Nate
must work with the woman he swore to bring to justice in order to defeat the
plot and reclaim their lives. His hot body and stellar moves give Lydia plenty
of motivation for teaming up in more ways than one, but she knows that the
criminal he hopes to protect her from is one she must face—alone.

Monday, December 16, 2013

This week we’re Getting Personal with
Author Marcia James. Marcia stopped by to talk about the writing life and share
an excerpt from the latest installment in the Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist
romantic mystery series Sex & The
Single Therapist.

About
Marcia James

Marcia James writes hot, humorous romances
and finaled in eleven Romance Writers of America contests before selling her
first comic romantic suspense, At Her
Command.

Her latest releases are Sex & the Single Therapist (a comic
romantic mystery) and Love Unleashed
(a sexy novella). In her eclectic career, she has shot submarine training
videos, organized celebrity-filled nonprofit events and had her wedding covered
by People Magazine.

After years of dealing with such sexy
topics as how to safely install traffic lights, she is enjoying “researching”
and plotting her novels' steamy love scenes with her husband and hero of many
years.

The
best part of being an author is getting to work from my home creating funny,
sexy stories that I hope readers enjoy as much as I love writing them.

What’s the most
challenging part of being a writer?

Being
a writer is similar to any self-employed job, in that you need to set a
schedule and deadlines and be disciplined enough to stick to them.That can be tough when family and friends are
tempting you away from the computer and if you like "retail therapy"
a little too much.

What is your
writing process?

I'm
a plot-driven author, so I do a rough outline of major plot points in the book
and then develop the characters. My best time for writing is the afternoon, and
I try to write at least 1,000 words or revise ten pages a day.

Where do you write?

I
have a home office on the second floor of my house, where I do the majority of
my writing. However, I take a binder
with me to hair appointments, doctor visits, etc., and write long-hand to make
good use of the time away from my office.

What’s the best
piece of advice you’ve ever gotten?

When
I first started writing romance fiction, an author friend told me how important
it was to learn the business side of publishing at the same time I learned the
craft of writing.Many writers wait
until they're submitting completed manuscripts or have just received "The
Call" about selling their first book to start researching things like
contract terms and author promotion.So
I approached fiction writing as though I were going to graduate school to get a
degree in it and needed to take both writing courses and business courses.I've never looked at my fiction writing as a
hobby.

What are you
working on now?

For
the first time, I'm working on several books simultaneously.I'm revising my first completed manuscript
for self-publishing while writing the sequel to Sex & the Single Therapist,
my comic romantic mystery series starter.

What is your most
current release and what is it about?

I
revised my first published book, At Her Command, a comic romantic suspense, and
I'm waiting for the rights to revert to me so I can self-publish it.I don't have a release date for it yet.Early next year, I'm publishing Southern
Exposure, a comic romantic mystery.

How did you come up
with the title?

I
came up with the title Southern Exposure because the book is set in a clothing
optional Caribbean resort.The
investigative reporter heroine is very uncomfortable with the amount of skin
she needs to expose as she goes undercover at the resort.;-DThe titles for my "Dr. Ally Skye, Sex Therapist" series will
all have a hint as to the order of the books in their titles.The first book is Sex & the Single
Therapist (single = one), and the next in the series will be Death & the
Double Entendre (double = two).

What would readers
be surprised to know about you?

I
absolutely love to play video poker, so it's a good thing for my bank account
that I don't live in Las Vegas.When I
worked in TV and video production, I met quite a few celebrities -- photos of
some of them are on my website
(http://www.marciajames.net/Photos_Celebs.html).And because my husband and I asked our
wedding guests to donate to charity vs. giving us wedding presents, People
Magazine covered our 1989 wedding.

What’s your ‘guilty
pleasure’?

My
husband gives me a gift certificate for a year's worth of pedicures and facials
each Christmas, so you could definitely say I'm a little spoiled.I also love to shop and "wine and
dine.";-)

Describe your
perfect evening.

My
perfect evening would be a date with my husband, beginning with a romantic
dinner at our favorite restaurant.Then
we would head home to snuggle on our sofa in front of our fireplace and a good
movie.The "apres movie" time
is private.;-)

Where’s the one
place in the world you’d like to visit?

New
Zealand.We'd love to spend one week on
an Orvis fly-fishing tour of the country, followed by a second week of relaxing
and getting pampered in one of their five-star resorts.A very nice dream...

Do you have any
pets?

I'm
terribly allergic to pets, so I don't currently have one.I did own an Afghan hound named Taffy when I
was much younger.Once we're retired and
not on the road as much, my husband and I are thinking about fostering a
"hypoallergenic" shelter dog.I'm very pro-rescue-pet, so if I get another dog, it will be from a
shelter or rescue group.

What is the story
behind your dog logo?

In
At Her Command, I included a tiny
Chinese crested hairless dog as a DEA drug-sniffing dog to the comic romantic
suspense.Smokey was so popular with
readers that I had a caricaturist create a drawing of him to use as a logo.Since then, every one of my books has
included a crested,. as well as some other dogs and cats.I think animal characters can reveal a lot
about a hero and heroine, and I love pairing a tiny, often goofy crested with a
big, tough Alpha hero.

Thank
you, Gabrielle, for this opportunity to be on your blog!Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays, and Happy
New Year's to you and your readers!

♥

Thank YOU, Marcia. We’re dog lovers here at
Gabrielle Holly Romance and Sooo pleased to have a kindred spirit visit. Stop
by any time – and bring your HOT heroes with you. We’ll be happy to scratch any
and all behind the ear!

And now, Darlings, pour yourself something
cool to drink and enjoy a taste of “Sex & the Single Therapist”

About "Sex & the Single Therapist

A CRIME OF PASSION…
To clear an innocent friend, Las Vegas sex
therapist Dr. Ally Skye launches her own investigation into a patient’s
murder. The last thing she expects is to find herself trading heated
words and hot kisses with a sexy cop. Can this free-spirited amateur
sleuth and her posse of Vegas insiders solve the crime before the killer
targets her?

A SEXY COMPLICATION…
Cynical homicide detective
Zack Crawford has the murder of a tom-catting cad to solve and a
grieving widow to investigate. The last thing he needs is the
interference of a red-hot sex therapist who haunts his dreams. Ally is
trouble, and he’s determined not to risk his bachelor freedom for any
woman. Besides, given her job, would she grade his performance in bed?

A DYNAMIC DUO…
In their search for the truth, Zack and Ally form an uneasy and
sexually charged alliance. Murderers, extortionists and psychos are no
match for these reluctant partners. Crime-solving was never this sexy or
this fun!

Zack trapped her in the V of her open car
door. After several heart-stuttering seconds, he bent his head as though to
kiss her.

She
leaned toward him, and the din of traffic and chattering tourists retreated.
The warmth of the day paled, as sensual heat sparked between them. Ally waited,
breathless.

When
he hesitated, she spoke for his ears only. “It’s okay. I don’t bite...hard.”

To a cacophony of car horns, he broke the
kiss. Confused, she slowly opened her eyes. His lips were wet and his
expression mirrored her longing, even as he set her away.

Zack started to speak, cleared his throat,
then began again. “We’re blocking traffic.”

Light-headed, Ally glanced around. Vehicles
had stacked up behind her Porsche, and the drivers were either honking or
clapping. She didn't know whether to blush or raise her fists like a prize
fighter. It’d been a gold-medal kiss.

Not trusting her voice, Ally got into her
car and closed the door. She picked up her notepad and drew a large number ten
on it with a shaky hand. Then, in an imitation of an Olympic judge, she held up
the pad for him to see.

Zack laughed aloud at the perfect score
she’d awarded his kiss.

~~~~~

Like what you’ve read so far? Find out what
happens next. Buy Sex & the Single Thereapist
today from Amazon,
and other fine eBook retailers

NEW RELEASE!

A Dreamy Romantic Comedy

Available NOW from Gabrielle Holly

His attraction to her was ferocious. Fighting it was impossible.

Praise for "Animal Behavior"

Gabrielle Holly introduces a new series with this paranormal erotic romance. The details and the story were superbly written. I loved how vivid the descriptions were and the background story and world building. If you enjoy your paranormal erotica with a more animalistic flavor then this is definitely the read for you. ~ Night Owl Reviews